Reviews by mattknueven:

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4/5 rDev +10.2%look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a gorgeous clear light amber with slight golden highlights when held to light with three fingers of nice, fluffy white head. A very pretty looking beer, especially for its style. Scents of tropical fruit, peach, orange flesh, some grassy and floral hops and lemon peel with an underlying, yeasty, bready aroma balancing the hops. A fairly nice aroma showcasing typical West Coast hop aromas, though not as intensely as many of the other session IPAs. The malt presence is also higher in the aroma. Taste begins hoppy, with medium-high bitterness and notes of orange flesh, tropical fruit, melon, some bready malt and slight citrus peel. This moves into a more bitter middle with notes of grapefruit peel, and hints of grapefruit flesh. Finish is dry with strong notes of grapefruit peel and a hint of grainy malt. Aftertaste is grainy malt and bitter grapefruit peel. A good overall flavor profile that is quite hoppy, though not as much as Stone's session IPA. The flavor profile here is more balanced between bitter hop flavors and sweeter fruity notes with malt leading into more bitterness as the sip progresses. A good overall flavor profile and quite drinkable as a result. Mouthfeel is light bodied with moderate carbonation and a smooth feel. Quite the drinkable beer as a result. Overall this is a nice attempt at a session IPA that aims to be both flavorful, yet balanced. It has big hoppy flavors but balances them with a slight, yet present breadiness and sweetness. The aroma also reflects this balance, being less hop forward than some other examples of the style. The mouthfeel is light and easy to drink and all this combines to make quite the nice session ale.

Overall: Great example of a Session IPA, or American Bitter as I like to call them. Kind of ironic that my biggest gripe is that it is too bitter, when I usually think the style could use a little more bitterness.

Packaged on 1/29/14 here goes a highly anticipated beer for myself...I'm a big fan of hoppy offerings from Sierra Nevada. I got a call from wvsabbath to pick up his reserved case of this new to Pittsburgh offering, I said without hesitation yeah I can split that case with you. Pours a light pale copper hue with a big billowing off white head, forms a rocky dimpled textured head that floats well above the rim of the glass. Lacing is chunky and sporadic what a great looking beer out of Chico, CA. Aroma light grassy, heavy vegetal hop notes green onion/garlic combo for me in this one with pungent whole leaf hop herbal/dank qualities. As it warms a bit more light tropical hops hit the nares in a good way. Flavor has enough biscuit malt/bready character to stand up to the big hop additions. At 4.8% abv I could definitely get used to this beer as a regular in my rotation. Hops hit with a wave of bitterness and settles into a mix of cereal malts and hop dank bitterness, the earthy herbal notes come out with a bit of mary jane dank hop flavor but finishes dry and pretty clean. The magnificent malts show up with flavor more so than in other recently released California session IPAs. Well balanced hop up session IPA I'm ready for some more and I'm pissed to only have one more, I had to water one of my favorite local bartenders...Heath from Mad Mex earned himself a 3 way IPA sampler in the form of Nooner, Snow Wit, and Blindfold IPAs. Texture is moderately carbonated light to medium bodied, flows nicely slick but not oily textured. The beer drinks way to easily, this is great warm weather drinking IPA. Overall, I can't wait to try more of this year's Sierra Nevada releases, with the fresh hop series adding two new beers different from Estate, Northern Hemisphere, and Southern Hemisphere IPAs.